The
partition of Palestine would establish Israel, the independent Jewish state. There
was strong Arab opposition to the vote.

Great
Britain controlled Palestine. There had been competing claims on the territory
from the large numbers of immigrant Zionists (Jews) coming from Europe and Russia
who wanted to set up their own state, against the claims of the native Palestinian
Arabs.

By
1929, Arabs and Jews were fighting each other. In an attempt to help appease the
Arabs, Britain took measures to stem the flow of Jewish immigration. During the
Holocaust, many Jews fled to Palestine as a refuge. This immigration was technically
illegal under the British rules. Radical Jews, who accused Britain of betrayal,
fought the British with terrorism.

After
the war, the USA took up the side of the Zionists and Britain didn't have a solution.
It referred the issue to the United Nations for a decision. The UN voted to split
the land in two, on this day... Israel one, Palestine the other...